1910 U.S. Open (golf)
The 1910 U.S. Open was the sixteenth U.S. Open, held June 17–20 at Philadelphia Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, a neighborhood of northwest Philadelphia. Alex Smith, the champion four years earlier, prevailed in an 18-hole playoff over his younger brother Macdonald Smith and 18-year-old John McDermott to win his second U.S. Open.[1][2]
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | June 17–20, 1910 |
| Location | Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Course(s) | Philadelphia Cricket Club |
| Organized by | USGA |
| Format | Stroke play − 72 holes |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 73 |
| Field | 73, 52 after cut |
| Cut | 167 (+21) |
| Winner's share | $300 |
| Champion | |
 | |
| 298 (+6) | |
On Friday, Alex Smith opened with a pair of 73's to take the 36-hole lead by two shots ahead of McDermott, Gilbert Nicholls, Fred McLeod, and Tom Anderson.[3]
Smith carded a 79 in the third round on Saturday morning that left him two behind McDermott, who shot a 75 for 223. In the final round that afternoon, McDermott was the first to finish and posted another 75 and a 298 total. Macdonald Smith shot 71 that also placed him at 298. McLeod had a chance to also post 298 after driving the final hole, but his putt for a two stayed out and he finished a shot back. Alex Smith also drove the green at the last needing only a two-putt to win, but he missed from 18 inches (45 cm) and tied with McDermott and his brother.[4] Alex was not fazed by the near-miss; in the Monday playoff, his 71 beat McDermott by four and Macdonald by six.
McDermott won the next two U.S. Opens; he was the first American-born winner and remains the youngest champion (19) through 2016. Four-time champion Willie Anderson played in his final U.S. Open and finished eleventh; he died four months later of epilepsy at age 31.
The course also hosted in 1907 and is the present-day St. Martin's course, now nine holes.[5]
Past champions in the field
| Player | Country | Year(s) won | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Smith | | 1906 | 73 | 73 | 79 | 73 | 298 | +6 | 1 |
| Fred McLeod | | 1908 | 78 | 70 | 78 | 73 | 299 | +7 | 4 |
| Willie Anderson | | 1901, 1903, 1904, 1905 | 74 | 78 | 76 | 75 | 303 | +11 | 11 |
| George Sargent |  | 1909 | 77 | 81 | 74 | 77 | 309 | +17 | T16 |
| Alec Ross | | 1907 | 78 | 84 | 73 | 79 | 314 | +22 | 22 |
Source:[6]
Did not play: Laurie Auchterlonie (1902), Harry Vardon (1900), Willie Smith (1899).
Round summaries
First round
Friday, June 17, 1910 (morning)
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Anderson | | 72 | −1 |
| T2 | Tom McNamara | .svg.png){kind=small} | 73 | E |
| Gilbert Nicholls | | |||
| Alex Smith | | |||
| T5 | Willie Anderson | | 74 | +1 |
| John McDermott | | |||
| Macdonald Smith | | |||
| James R. Thomson | | |||
| T9 | Herbert Barker | | 75 | +2 |
| George Low | |
Source:[3]
Second round
Friday, June 17, 1910 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Smith | | 73-73=146 | E |
| T2 | Tom Anderson | | 72-76=148 | +2 |
| John McDermott | | 74-74=148 | ||
| Fred McLeod | | 78-70=148 | ||
| Gilbert Nicholls | | 73-75=148 | ||
| T6 | Jack Hobens | | 74-77=151 | +5 |
| Tom McNamara | | 73-78=151 | ||
| T8 | Willie Anderson | | 74-78=152 | +9 |
| George Low | | 75-77=152 | ||
| Macdonald Smith | | 74-78=152 | ||
| Chay Thom | | 80-72=152 |
Source:[3]
Third round
Saturday, June 18, 1910 (morning)
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John McDermott | | 74-74-75=223 | +4 |
| 2 | Tom McNamara | | 73-78-73=224 | +5 |
| T3 | Jack Hobens | | 74-77-74=225 | +6 |
| Gilbert Nicholls | | 73-75-77=225 | ||
| Alex Smith | | 73-73-79=225 | ||
| 6 | Fred McLeod | | 78-70-78=226 | +7 |
| T7 | Tom Bonnar | 74-78-75=227 | +8 | |
| Macdonald Smith | | 74-78-75=227 | ||
| T9 | Willie Anderson | | 74-78-76=228 | +9 |
| Jock Hutchison | | 77-76-75=228 |
Final round
Saturday, June 18, 1910 (afternoon)
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Alex Smith | | 73-73-79-73=298 | +6 | Playoff |
| John McDermott | | 74-74-75-75=298 | |||
| Macdonald Smith | | 74-78-75-71=298 | |||
| 4 | Fred McLeod | | 78-70-78-73=299 | +7 | 80 |
| T5 | Tom McNamara | | 73-78-73-76=300 | +8 | 65 |
| Gilbert Nicholls | | 73-75-77-75=300 | |||
| 7 | Jack Hobens | | 74-77-74-76=301 | +9 | 50 |
| T8 | Tom Anderson | | 72-76-81-73=302 | +10 | 30 |
| Herbert Barker | | 75-78-77-72=302 | |||
| Jock Hutchison | | 77-76-75-74=302 |
Playoff
Monday, June 20, 1910
| Place | Player | Country | Score | To par | Money ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Smith | | 71 | –2 | 300 |
| 2 | John McDermott | | 75 | +2 | 150 |
| 3 | Macdonald Smith | | 77 | +4 | 100 |
Source:[2]
References
- "Alex Smith Champion: Wykagyl Professional Wins Triple Tie Play-Off in Open Golf Tournament". The New York Times. June 21, 1910.
- "Alec Smith wins Open golf". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 21, 1910. p. 10.
- "Alec Smith leads golfers". Chicago Daily Tribune. June 18, 1910. p. 13.
- "Triple tie in golf tourney". Chicago Sunday Tribune. June 19, 1910. p. 3, sec. 3.
- "Golf". Philadelphia Cricket Club. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
- Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). "The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of The Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008". p. 213. Retrieved June 14, 2017.